T-Mobile announced its plans to increase some customer fees next month, noting that it’s looking to recover certain losses that it’s been subjected to in the past and is still incurring them to this day. The third largest mobile service provider in the United States will be increasing its Regulatory Programs Fee (RPF) & Telco Recovery Fee (TRF) as of June 10. The company uses those fees to comply with certain government programs and cover costs related to third-party facilities and services. The RPF is set to be increased from $2.71 to $3.18 for voice lines, while the TRF will amount to $1.16 for data lines as of June 10, up from $0.98. Former customers of SunCom Wireless — a Pennsylvania-based wireless carrier that T-Mobile acquired for $1.6 billion and rebranded under its name in 2008 — were previously exempt from paying the Regulatory Programs & Telco Recovery Fee, but will start being charged its full amount as of next month, T-Mobile said, adding that only customers who switch to its T-Mobile ONE Taxes & Fees Included plan or are already paying for it will be able to avoid the extra monthly charge.
The Bellevue, Washington-based company said that the latest fee changes are part of its standard price adjustments that usually follow major reviews of its third-party services and government program compliance reviews. T-Mobile reviews its related compliance costs on a regular basis and adjusts customer fees in an effort to accurately charge its customers depending on their plan of choice, the firm said, adding that its T-Mobile ONE plan that includes additional costs was launched precisely to accommodate consumers who prefer not to think about additional fees. The fees themselves are not to be mistaken for a government-imposed tax as they’ll be retained by T-Mobile and reinvested into the aforementioned sectors with no exceptions.
Refer to the source link beneath this writing for a more in-depth explanation of T-Mobile’s decision to raise its Regulatory Programs & Telco Recovery Fee. The move comes shortly after the Deutsche Telekom-owned mobile service provider posted financial results for yet another successful business quarter and directly confirmed it will discuss a potential merger with Sprint later this year.